| Match Pictures | Matches: 1998 – 1999 | 1998-1999 Pictures |
Trivia
- In the wake of Viduka’s vanishing trick back to Zagreb, the club threatened to sue Viduka for the return of the transfer money. Croatia Zagreb said that the problem was Celtic’s and they expected to be paid the full fee of £3.00million. On 9th December it appeared that Fergus, after flying to Zagreb, had persuaded Viduka to return to Glasgow after having rested and recovered back in Australia, to whence he flew on the 10th December agreeing to return to Glasgow in the New Year. McCann then told Croatia Zagreb that he had no intention of paying up till Viduka returned to Glasgow.
- The team was unchanged from the previous game against Hearts.
- Harald Brattbakk was linked to a £1.3million move to Derby County.
Review
Venglos opted to start Simon Donnelly in central midfield. It was only later he was moved to his more regular right side role. The team had the best of the play and were on top for much of the game but failed to put away chances and suffered, having to claw back a Larsson equaliser for the draw at the end. THe draw put us 7 points adrift of Rangers who had a game in hand too.
Teams
Dundee Utd:
Combe, Malpas, Olofsson, Zetterlund, Dolan, Easton, Mathie, Dodds, Skoldmark, De Vos, Pascual.
Subs Not Used: Dykstra, Miller, Thompson, Mols, Paterson.
Goals: Zetterlund 49.
Booked: Dolan (Dundee Utd)
Celtic:
Gould, Boyd , Mahe, Stubbs , Larsson, O'Donnell, Donnelly, Lambert, Moravcik, Riseth (Burchill 73), Mjallby.
Subs Not Used: Brattbakk, Hannah, Annoni, McCondichie.
Goals: Larsson 85.
Ref: J McCluskey (Stewarton).
Attendance: 11,612
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Stats
| Dundee Utd | Celtic | |
| Bookings | 1 | 0 |
| Fouls | 14 | 10 |
| Shots on Target | 4 | 8 |
| Corners | 6 | 8 |
| Offside | 1 | 4 |
Celtic paper over cracks
Scotland on Sunday 13/12/1998
Dundee United 1 Celtic 1
WHEN a team with a record of one win in eight home matches faces rivals with a solitary victory in eight away outings, nothing has to give. And so it proved at Tannadice yesterday in a contest underpinned by such inadequacies.
In the opening period, neither side appeared to possess the application nor the wherewithal in an encounter that singularly failed to spark.
That Celtic avoided their fourth consecutive away defeat thanks to an equaliser five minutes from time from Henrik Larsson, does nothing to put a better complexion on fast-fading hopes of retaining their title. Merely, it has prevented them being responsible for the club's worst league run outwith its own patch in over a decade.
Celtic should consider kitting out their players with safety-harnesses on away days. For each time they attempt to go some way to climbing the points mountain between themselves and Rangers, they simply fall off.
Simple logic dictates that the position Celtic find themselves in, seven points shy of their Ibrox rivals who have played one game fewer, is now insurmountable. Celtic head coach Jozef Venglos, predictably, would have none of this but then he would, wouldn't he.
"We have to believe we can still catch Rangers," he offered in his usual moribund manner and he clings to the belief that better luck can help his side improve their consistency. It must be stated, though, that better judgement on his part must have a part to play. The 11 players he entrusted for victory at Tannadice were those that dug themselves a hole in losing in Edinburgh last Sunday. They may have lined up differently, but that merely led to performers like Johan Mjallby, Simon Donnelly and Vidar Riseth looking uncomfortable in their new roles. Further, the Slovakian coach was rightfully praised for pulling off a masterstroke in pairing Lobomir Moravcik with Larsson up front to form the strike force that destroyed Rangers last month.
But nothing that has happened since suggests anything other than this conjuring act was a one-trick wonder. Indeed, it was not until the 73rd minute, when the hapless Riseth was withdrawn in favour of Mark Burchill, that Celtic looked capable of engineering an escape from defeat.
A 49th-minute opener from Magnus Skoldmark had appeared to pave the way for a first United home success since a 1-0 win over Aberdeen on October 4. If that had been the case, Jonathan Gould would have had to accept the responsibility and hold his hands up to better effect than he did when Kjell Olofsson swept over a corner that left the Celtic goalkeeper taking up a Superman stance as the ball whizzed past him to allow Skoldmark to head into an unguarded net.
United then opted for a policy of containment, content to feed off the scraps that came their way infrequently. Dutiful defending was the order of the day and there is no one more dutiful when it comes to the United cause than Maurice Malpas. Twice, he was the obstacle that goalbound efforts came to grief on, hooking away after Skoldmark appeared set to knock the ball over his own line on the half-hour, and, with 14 minutes remaining, proving the goal-line saviour to block an effort from Alan Stubbs.
United appeared to have worked a number on Celtic by having Skoldmark stick like a limpet to Larsson. The fount of all Celtic inspiration, he was strangely out of sorts and the visitors' one sleek movement of the first half ended with a finish from the Swede that strangely lacked conviction. Stephane Mahe galloped forward after intercepting a Billy Dodds' cross and found Moravcik in space. He created even more with a clever turn before rolling the ball to Larsson, who meekly shot at Alan Combe with the goal at his mercy. But, even in the dreadlocked striker's off days, he can still produce a precious moment and he did so in the 85th minute when, springheeled-like, Larsson rose to punch a header into the top corner after a curling cross from the right by Moravcik.
Late Celtic rallies against United have become stock in trade whenever these two sides have met down through the years, but this latest might have been ineffectual were it not for Gould, launching himself across goal to push a ferocious Olofsson shot to safety.
United manager Paul Sturrock declared himself satisfied with a draw but anguished at the way his team again squandering a winning position, as they have on several occasions in the past month. The Tannadice men remain uncomfortably placed in the Premier, however, and a mere four wins from 18 league games may force them to be constantly looking over their shoulder for the next four months.
Yet, Sturrock appears reasonably relaxed about the situation he was willing to walk into only three months ago. And, if the necessary zip proved beyond Olofsson, Dodds and Alex Mathie against Celtic, the Tannadice boss believes there was a compensation. "I am pleased with my players because they work really hard," Sturrock said. "If they work like that every week, they'll win more than they lose." Games, perhaps, but friends maybe not.
- Manager Interview
"We have to believe we can still catch Rangers,"
"That's five or six games we've played now this season in which we deserved better results.
"We can catch Rangers but we'll only do that with hard work and a little bit more luck."
"It is far too soon to speak about what may or may not happen at the end of the season.
"I will always believe that my side are capable of catching anyone, but we have to learn to take one game at a time. There is enough spirit in the squad to maintain a real challenge.
"This was not a top performance against Dundee United but, frankly, I cannot criticise the players.
"They at least had the character to come from behind to get a point. I just have to hope that our luck improves."